Cricketer to raise funds for new defibrillator by running 10km in pads and gloves

A batsman is aiming to raise money to put towards a new defibrillator by running 10 kilometres dressed as a cricketer.
Michael JakemanMichael Jakeman
Michael Jakeman

Michael Jakeman, who plays for Southowram Cricket Club, will undertake the challenge on Saturday, May 30.

“I knew the club were limited on the funds they’re getting in with no games taking place. A lot of the money the club generates is from bar sales,” he said.

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“All you see on telly is about Premier League clubs struggling when they’ve got hundreds of millions of pounds.

“For the past nine months or so I’ve been doing quite a bit of running, especially in lockdown as my daily exercise.

“My wife said ‘why don’t you do something and try to raise some money for the club?’ so I said that to the chairman and he was behind it.

“He said they’d been looking into getting a defibrillator down there and he asked if they could put the funds towards that.

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“It’s in quite a remote location and they get quite a lot of runners and dog walkers around there.

“It won’t just benefit the club on matchday but people around there. You hope it never has to be used but if it saves someone’s life then it’s worthwhile.

“It’s just my way of giving something back to the club and the community.”

Father-of-one Michael, 34, is originally from Warwickshire but lives in Skircoat Green.

He has played for the club for four seasons as a batsman.

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He hasn’t finalised whereabouts in the area he will be doing the run yet.

“I think it’ll be genuinely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” he said.

“I’ve done the Great North Run before and I run 10k’s in about an hour but doing it in cricket pads and gloves, to do it in anything less than two hours would be quite an achievement.”

Michael says he has been delighted by the response from the public.

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“It’s been absolutely brilliant, quite overwhelming really,” he said.

“I thought it was a bit of a silly idea initially and it’s just progressed. I put £250 initially then moved it to £350 and now it’s at £440 and I’ve got another £105 that people have promised me, so I’m thinking I could get to £700-£800, which would be fantastic.

“We’ve been told a defibrillator costs about £1,000 so if I could raise the vast majority of that it’d be brilliant.”

To donate to the appeal, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/10km-run-wearing-full-cricket-kit.